


Tempest Landing

by MoonFireFic



Category: Torchwood
Genre: Folktales, Gen, Migrating old LJ Fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-05
Updated: 2017-04-05
Packaged: 2018-10-15 05:36:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,615
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10550958
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MoonFireFic/pseuds/MoonFireFic
Summary: Tosh and Ianto share a secret, one that can save them or break them against the shifting tide.





	

**[](http://pics.livejournal.com/moonfirefic/pic/00007s1x/)  
**Title: Tempest Landing  
**Author:** [](http://moonfirefic.livejournal.com/profile)[**moonfirefic**](http://moonfirefic.livejournal.com/)  
**[](http://redisourcolor.livejournal.com/profile)[](http://redisourcolor.livejournal.com/)**redisourcolor** Challenge #24**  
**Prompts:** false, evening, pride, salt  
**Quote:** "So wise so young, they say, do never live long". Richard III (Act III, Scene I).  
**Synopsis:** Tosh and Ianto share a secret, one that can save them or break them against the shifting tide.   
**A/N:** Unbetaed - mistakes are all mine

 

_Torchwood Hub_  
_Late Summer 2008_

Ianto watched over the railing along Mermaid Quay as a lone porpoise swam forward, sliding gracefully through the waves as it made its way towards him. Slipping his hand inside his shirt, he clutched the talisman within. Closing his eyes in concentration, he focused on the message he wanted to relay. Opening his eyes slowly, they flashed a deep, vivid blue as he held the mammal’s gaze. The Porpoise’s eyes flashed in answer and it nodded once before diving under the surface.

“Making new friends?” Jack asked as he joined him at the railing.

Ianto pulled his hand from his shirt and placed it on the railing beside him.

“Just collecting my thoughts,” he replied, watching as the porpoise surfaced at the edge of the bay and continued on its way. Satisfied that his message had been sent, he turned away from the sea to face Jack. Jack held his gaze for a moment as if expecting him to elaborate, but instead of saying anything further Ianto looked away.

“Best get back to it,” he said before striding past him on his way back to the Hub.  

Jack watched him leave with a worried expression. Ever since Tosh and Owen had been killed Ianto had been distant, as if something was weighing on his mind that he wasn’t willing to share.

Sighing in resignation he turned back to where the sun was setting on the horizon and just made out the porpoise Ianto was commiserating with when he arrived. As the mammal slipped beneath the waves and out of sight, he wondered once again if there was something he was forgetting. He had been buried and then frozen for so long it hard to reconnect, especially with Ianto. It had been easier with Gwen, she pushed him and challenged him, but only saw the hero and not the man beneath. With Ianto it was harder, he saw through the jokes and the smiles and realized just how much Jack was floundering as he tried to fit back into a life that he only partially remembered. It was the questions in Ianto's eyes that scared him. One's that he wasn't sure he was ready to answer.  
~~~~~~~~

_Later that evening…._

Gwen was holed up in Jack’s office.

The two of them were reminiscing about their fallen friends over a glass or three of scotch, leaving Ianto to monitor the rift. He should be used to it by now, but the simple fact that they had once again left him, the youngest survivor of their broken quintet to suffer alone in silence, still stung. He didn’t _need_ their sympathy really, it was more the fact that the two of them hadn’t even bothered to ask him to join them.

Gwen’s tittering laugh filled the air, accompanied by Jack’s low chuckle as Ianto checked the satellite images and the rift predictor one last time before switching it over to auto-mode. He had been planning on taking the next two days off for several weeks, and judging by the party in Jack’s office, it wasn’t a moment too soon. Satisfied that he had done all he could to keep Cardiff and the planet secure in his absence, he stood and downed the last bit of his now cold coffee, before squaring his shoulders and making his way up the stairs to Jack’s office. Pausing outside the door, he set a false mask of serenity firmly in place as he stepped inside.

“It’s just after nine,” he announced standing in the doorway and raising an eyebrow at Gwen’s whiskey-rouged cheeks. “I seem to recall mention of Rhys making your favorite dessert this evening in celebration of your first date,” he added as she set her glass in front of the crystal decanter and gestured for Jack to pour her another. “Perhaps it would be best if Jack took you home?”

“But we’re just gettin’ started,” Gwen slurred with a dopey grin, her accent thick and husky due to the alcohol. “Come on Ianto, raise a glass for Tosh!” she urged holding her refilled glass aloft.  When Ianto failed to join her she stuck out her lip in an exaggerated pout. “Jack,” she said gesturing to Ianto and sloshing the contents of her glass onto the floor. “Make the Tea-boy drink with us to remember our fallen friends.”

“Yeah Ianto,” Jack teased. “Quit being such a stick in the mud and help celebrate the fact that we’re all still alive.”

Ianto turned to Jack and frowned as he and Gwen dissolved into a fit of giggles and Gwen made an off-color joke about the stick being somewhere a lot less comfortable then mud. “I think Tosh would appreciate it if I remembered her magnificence while sober,” he replied curtly as he stepped forward to cork the decanter and place it back on the shelf. “And you, Mrs. Cooper-Williams, would do well to remember that this isn’t the first time that some of us have had to remember fallen friends,” he added causing Jack to frown.

“Ah so wise, so young, they say, do never live long,” he quoted darkly. “But Ianto has a point. Come on Gwen, let’s get you home.” Suddenly much more sober, Jack pointedly jerked his jacket from the coat rack and away from Ianto’s waiting hands before helping Gwen to her feet.

“Shut down for the night and go home Ianto,” Jack threw over his shoulder as they made their way down the stairs. “And since you have the next two days off, use them to sort whatever’s bothering you,” he added as they reached the main floor. Jack sat a giggling and uncoordinated Gwen down in Owen’s chair shaking his head as he went to look for her purse. “Welsh constitution my ass,” he muttered shaking his head as he searched through her desk.

Ianto, deciding not to acknowledge Jack’s petulant behavior, descended the stairs and collected Gwen’s purse from kitchen cupboard, the only place Owen wouldn’t find it or her emergency stash of sweets, and held it out at arm’s length. Jack turned around and scowled at him before snatching it out of his hands and returning to Gwen.

“I mean it Ianto,” Jack said as he propped up a now half-asleep Gwen and started toward the exit. He paused at the entrance to the tunnel leading to the car park and turned to face him as Gwen slumped against his side. “You and Gwen are all that’s left,” he added holding his gaze.  “I need you both to keep Torchwood going. If a few days off is what you need, make sure you use them.”

Ianto swallowed, noting that Jack had mentioned Torchwood’s needs, but not his own. “I’ll do my best Sir,” he replied with a tight smile. “I’m sure you and Gwen will manage just fine whilst I'm away.”

Jack’s eyes narrowed. “We’ve been over this,” he said as Gwen’s eyes slipped closed. “Gwen is important and so are you Ianto,” he added as she snuffled against his coat. “Both to Torchwood and to me.”

Ianto didn’t reply. He had enough dignity left not to point out that even as he made declarations about how important Ianto was to him, Gwen still came first.

The two men continued to stare at each other, so many things they had not been able to say since that terrible night with Gray bubbling below the surface, so many missed opportunities, and as the silence stretched, Ianto wondered if they would ever discuss what had happened rather than simply shag away the words they could never find the time to say.

The silence broke as Gwen began to snore. “Best get this one home before Rhys has my hide,” Jack said rolling his eyes as he gathered her up into a fireman’s carry.

“Drive safe,” Ianto answered as Jack disappeared up the tunnel and out of sight. “Goodbye.”

As soon as they were gone, Ianto swept his eyes over the Hub, memorizing it on the off chance he didn’t return, before gathering the precious cargo he was taking with him, and shutting the Hub down for the night.  
~~~~~~~~

_Cemaes Bay, Anglesey_  
_Six Months Earlier…_

After sightings of an Igarti craft in distress were reported on the Northern Anglesey Coast, Torchwood had arrived on the scene in just time to witness the crystalline vessel hover overhead briefly, before crashing into a local fishing vessel and skittering off of it to shatter against the rocky cliffs at the edge of the bay. Owen, Jack, and Gwen had boarded one of the rescue boats run by the local maritime authority, leaving Tosh and Ianto to search the shoreline for survivors or tech that might have washed up into one of the sea caves nearby. Tosh had managed to find a signal of some sort and the two of them had radioed back that they would be out of comm. range for a while as the signal was coming from somewhere deep inside the caves. Jack had been too preoccupied to offer much of a response, and after checking the tide tables to ensure that they had enough time to explore, the two of them had switched on their torches and made their way inside.

Several hours of searching later, Ianto was beginning to wonder if the strength of the signal had been somehow fractured by the strange blue crystals embedded in the walls of the deeper caves. Winding their way through dark, sea-damp tunnels, the sound of the ocean waves grew steadily louder, until he could barely hear Tosh when she tried to tell him that the signal source was about fifty feet ahead.

Sighing in relief, the two of them made their way into a large chamber with a pool at the center. On a small outcropping of rock at the far side of the pool sat a rectangular shaped silver box covered in the same blue crystals that they had seen in the caves. The two of them edged along the side of the pool toward it and Tosh held up her PDA to show him that it was definitely the source of their signal.

Slipping off his raincoat, Ianto used it to gather up the box and tie it inside. Deciding to error on the side of caution, especially after seeing the disasters that carelessness had brought at Torchwood One. Gathering it up and slinging it over his shoulder, he gave Tosh a thumb’s up and the two of them started to make their way back through the tunnels. They were about an hour into their trek back when water started lapping at their feet.

“How many hours did you calculate we had before the tide came in?” Ianto asked nervously as the water climbed to his ankles.

“About two, two and a half tops,” Tosh replied. “Why do you ask?” she added before gasping aloud as the icy water rose higher and skimmed her knees.

“Because it’s been three,” Ianto replied holding up his torch to check his watch. “We need to get out of here now.”

Tosh looked down at the rising water and back down at her PDA as it mapped the route back out of the caves. When the program was done, she sighed.

“We have only a few minutes before the tide comes in and this says it will take us at least half an hour to reach the surface,” she said trying to stay calm. “What are we going to do?”

Ianto stared down at the bottle green water rolling past his knees and made a decision. What he didn’t know was that Tosh was doing the very same thing.

“There’s something I need to tell you,” they both said at the same time, causing them each to laugh.

“Ladies first,” Ianto replied ducking his head good naturedly.

Tosh slipped her PDA into her pocket and took a deep breath. “Try not to freak out,” she said watching his face in the light of her torch as she slowly raised her hand.

Ianto stared in wonder as she held it out, palm toward him, and slowly spread her fingers, exposing the delicate webbing between them.

“Does Jack know?” he asked flicking his gaze up to her face as she shook her head no.

“I managed to make sure UNIT didn’t know either,” she said, closing her hand into a fist. “My parents found me as a baby while on a boating trip. I never knew who my real parents were. My adopted parents loved me for myself, even if I did have a tendency to sleep in the bathtub now and then,” she added with a nervous smile.

“Then they were a lot like mine I expect,” Ianto answered as he held out his hand, palm side up. “Well, at least until Mum died anyway.”

Tosh stared in disbelief as she raised the slender fingers to her face and saw the familiar webbing that the sea brought forth between her own fingers present between her best friend’s as well.

“You mean you…” she trailed off as tears welled up in her eyes at the possibility that she was no longer alone.

“Beach holiday on the Pembrokeshire Coast,” Ianto answered as he clasped their hands together. “Rhiannon found me nestled amongst the rocks, swaddled in a silver blanket and giggling at a crab as it scuttled past, or so the story goes,” he said shaking his head. “Personally I think Rhi made up the crab bit. She still calls me sea-monkey, though she knows I most certainly _do not_ have a tail,” he added rolling his eyes.

Tosh laughed and dropped their joined hands into the water, suddenly realizing that it was now waist deep.

“So the whole breathing under water thing?” she asked as the water continued to come in.

“I find bathtubs quite comfy as well,” he replied with a grin. “Well, the ones large enough for my legs to fit anyway,” he added ruefully.

“So we swim our way out then?” she asked wanting to make sure.

Ianto nodded.

“I’ll try to hold onto the box, but if I drop it, we can always come back,” he added with a shrug.

“Works for me,” she said with a smile. “Ready?”

Ianto nodded and the two of them leaned forward into the water, which though they both knew it should be freezing, didn’t seem to bother them in the least.  
~~~~~~~~

They had made it out with ease, only getting lost once when they took a wrong turn, before emerging alongside an outcropping at the far side of the bay. Ianto had managed to keep ahold of the box, and as they swam their way around the rocks they came to a lone dock bearing the sign ‘Tempest Landing,’ lined with white pylons on either side, standing sentinel against the waves crashing against the weathered planks. The sun by now hung low on the horizon and dark clouds had gathered; warning signs that a storm was close at hand. Ianto and Tosh rode the crest of a nearby wave and landed on the end of the dock, sitting down on the edge to catch their breath and get their bearings.

“I see you found the chest,” called a voice behind them as footsteps echoed across the water.

Tosh and Ianto turned and saw a man walking toward them, fishing gear in hand. He was dressed in a simple sweater and an ancient pair of overalls. His snow white hair was held back in a leather band, and neatly trimmed whiskers framed a ready smile.

“I’m not sure what you mean,” Ianto replied, drawing the box closer.

“Oh, I think you do,” the man replied as he perched beside them and slipped off his boots to let his feet dangle in the water. “The thing is though, it’s been missing for awhile, and it would be best if we take it back to where it belongs.”

“Why would we do that?” Tosh asked, reaching toward the stun gun Ianto kept in the back of his trousers and hoping that it was dry enough to work.

The man didn’t answer he just lifted his foot from the water, exposing his webbed toes and held out his webbed hand towards them.

“Name’s Arinthus McGee,” he said as Ianto shook it warily. “But you can call me Arin, I’m Theoscray of this coast,” he added, waiting for their reaction to his title. When he saw no recognition, his suspicions were confirmed. “Judging by the confused look I see on both your faces, I am guessing that you two are some of the lost we’ve been hearing about.

“The lost?” Tosh asked intrigued. “You mean there are more of us?”

Arin laughed. “A whole city, several actually, scattered across the ocean floor,” he said smiling as both of their mouths dropped open in surprise. "One of the cities was rattled by seaquakes about thirty years ago," he added. "Some of the children were lost in the chaos of evacuation, and are just now being found."

Tosh and Ianto exchanged a look.

“Can you take us there?” Ianto asked, amazed at finally getting some answers about where they came from.

“Better to show you then tell you,” Arin answered, stripping off his sweater and overalls to reveal a knee-length, short-sleeved diving suit beneath. “I don’t have another suit with me,” he said before diving gracefully into the water. He surfaced a moment later, throwing his head back as his white hair slipped its band to hang in ringlets around his face. “So I would suggest stripping down to the bare essentials,” he advised. “There’s a locker underneath the dock that’s water tight if you want to store anything until you return.”

Tosh and Ianto exchanged a look and started pulling off layers until only their underwear and t-shirts remained. Ianto dove off first, surfacing near the dock so he could reach up as Tosh handed him down their things to secure the locker. Arin held up the crystal around his neck to the locker door and they watched in fascination as it glowed with the same deep shimmering blue they had seen in the crystals of the cave. The locker glowed in return before fading back to the battered metal it had been before.

“Tight as a drum,” Arin remarked with a wink. “Now stay together, the currents can be a bit strong if you aren’t used to them,” he added before slipping back under the waves.

“Please tell me this is real,” Tosh whispered, watching as Arin swam beneath the surface. “There’s really a city down there and more people like, well us?”

“I hope so,” Ianto replied, clasping her hand in reassurance as he shifted the box beneath his arm. “But we’re going to find out together,” he added holding her gaze. “And no matter what happens, I am really glad my best friend is with me.”

Tosh nodded and looked back down to where Arin was floating below them with his hands on his hips.

“We best get going,” Ianto said as Arin gestured for them to hurry up.

The two friends shared a nervous smile and slipped below the surface, ready for whatever adventures lie below.  
~~~~~~~~

_Cemaes Bay, Anglesey - 2008_

When Ianto arrived at Arin’s cottage five hours after leaving the hub, the moon hung large and full overhead, illuminating the solitary dock below in its silvery light. After retrieving the hidden key from the knot-hole near the door, he slipped inside and changed into a dark blue diving suit and a loose pair of sandals. After replacing the key, he went to the back of the cargo van he had rented for the trip and opened the doors. Inside Tosh lie as he had left her, nestled inside warm blankets as her body thawed from the brittle cold of the cryo-chamber. With shaking hands he gathered her into his arms, trying to focus on the task at hand.

She was feather light and so very still, and he blinked back tears as he remembered the look she had given him that fateful day of Gray’s attack. While Gwen and Jack knelt at her side, trying to ease what they thought were her last moments, Ianto had mouthed a silent message that he would keep his promise and bring her back to their homeland, where she could be restored.

It had taken a month of careful planning and a clandestine meeting with Arin to set things in motion. He had even debated telling Jack once or twice, but something always held him back. When he and Tosh had been taken to Cantre'r Gwaelod, the Welsh stronghold within a massive crystal dome under the sea, they had promised to never reveal the secrets of their people. Only spouses and immediate family were allowed to know of the cities scattered along the ocean floor, and he had hoped to share the truth with Jack, but thus far he was still unsure. They had also been given crystals of their own in thanks for returning the strong box from the cave. Inside had been the lost Crystal of Namin, a source of power strong enough to re-energize the perception filters that protected Cantre’r Gwaelod; hiding the great city from the surface world. Time flowed differently beneath the waves, and before they knew it two days had passed and Arin warned them it was time to return before they were missed. Before they left, Fiona, a seer and priestess of their people, pulled them aside and warned them that a great evil was coming, and that if the worst befell one of them on land, to ensure they were brought home before the passing of one full moon, as all of the sea would revive and flourish beneath the waves if they were brought home before the turning of the tide.

It was because of her words that Ianto was standing in the middle of the night on a moonlit dock holding the body of his dearest friend.

“Soon Tosh, soon,” he whispered, as he kicked off his sandals and sat at the end of the dock to wait. 

As soon as his feet hit the water, a dolphin surfaced at the far side of the bay and cried out. A trio of male heads appeared near the edge of the dock soon after, and a few moments later a cradle like boat made of glass emerged from the water beside them.

Arin nodded to Ianto and he slipped into the water, still holding Tosh in his arms. While Arin rested a hand on his shoulder, the others lifted the top of the boat-like coffin that would carry Tosh back to Cantre’r Gwaelod. Once it was open, Arin helped Ianto place Tosh gently down on the cushions inside. After resealing the container, each of the four men took hold of one of the carrying poles alongside the tiny vessel and eased it back beneath the surface to carry her home.

He emerged two days later with his best friend at his side, whole once more.

“Thank you,” she said as she hugged him tight. “I know they said it was possible, but I never imagined that the crystals had such great power,” she said holding the slim crystal around her neck up to the moonlight in awe. “To think that our ancestors harnessed them so that we can heal and live for centuries,” she marveled as it caught the light. “There are so many things you could do with an unlimited power supply,” she added, already drawing up plans.

“I’m just glad to have you back,” Ianto answered. “I’ve lost too many people Tosh, and I wasn’t going to miss this chance, even if it means I can only see you some of the time,” he finished sadly.

“You could stay you know,” she said quietly. “I know you care about Jack but, I worry about what will happen to you if I’m not there.”

“I’ll be fine Tosh, I promise,” Ianto answered, willing himself to believe it was true. “Arin will be keeping an eye on me as well, and there’s always the bay if you don’t believe me,” he added with a shrug.

Tosh laughed. “Can you imagine if I suddenly showed up all fine, and with these hands?” she asked wiggling her webbed fingers above the water. “Gwen would probably try and shoot me, Jack would lock me in a cell, and you would end up in a whole lot of trouble with only Janet and that overgrown jelly in the bay that keeps flirting with you on your side.”

Ianto laughed and sighed. “I have no idea what she’s thinking, sure I like avant-garde, but tentacles are a no go for me,” he added with a shudder.

Tosh laughed.

“Seriously though, take care of yourself okay?” she prodded.

“I promise _ishiani-mi_ ,” he said holding her close as he called her dear one in the language of the sea.  
~~~~~~~~

“Have a good trip?” Jack asked when Ianto showed up bright and early on Friday morning.

“It was all that I hoped for,” Ianto replied with a soft smile that for the first time in weeks actually reached his eyes.

Jack watched him go through the motions of making coffee and noticed that there was an extra spring in his step and peace in his movements that hadn’t been there before he left. Jack frowned. Had Ianto found someone else while he was away? He suddenly realized had been spending far too much time worried about Gwen. Maybe it was time he spent more time with the man who was supposed to be his lover, before he found solace in someone else.

“It’s been dull without you here,” he said casually watching him work. “Want to go out for dinner tonight and catch up?” he asked, hoping that Ianto would say yes, and that it wasn’t too late.

Ianto smiled to himself.

“Are you certain you won’t be too busy?” he asked, still focused on the task at hand.

“No distractions,” Jack replied as Ianto turned around and handed him his mug. “Been too many of them lately, and I think it’s time I let them go.”

Ianto held his gaze as the cog door rolled open announcing Gwen’s arrival. “You sure about that?” he asked, needing to know where they stood before he let Jack get close again.

“Jack? Ianto? Are you here?” Gwen called out as she set her purse down. “I was thinking we should go for a pub night tonight. You know, have a team outing. I can bring Rhys too if you like.”

“No can do Gwen,” Jack called back, stepping closer to take Ianto’s hand. “Ianto and I have plans.”

“Alright then,” she replied disappointed. “But let’s do it sometime soon, yeah?”

“We’ll see,” Jack replied not making any promises.

Ianto smiled. It was a long way from the kind of commitment he needed from Jack before he could make his secrets known, but it was a start. As Jack squeezed his hand before turning away to check the morning rift report, he closed his eyes and reached for the crystal around his neck, hoping that one day he would trust him enough to tell him the truth.  
   
   
   
 


End file.
